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Allied soldiers are trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk and completely surrounded. Little by little, the enemy pushes closer as the evacuation gets underway...

Looking at the likes of Interstellar, Inception or The Dark Knight, it's clear that Christopher Nolan has a good handle on how to make films with a sense of scale and spectacle. It hasn't been since The Prestige that Nolan has attempted to make a small, human drama or thriller - and, in some regards, his films have become more clinical and less emotionally attached. With the likes of Interstellar, it pushed too hard to connect with audiences to the point that it verged hard into sentimentality. With Dunkirk, Nolan finds another way into the audience - by absolutely terrifying them.

Dunkirk opens with a trio of Allied soldiers walking through a deathly quiet street as leaflets, distributed by the nameless enemy from above, flutter down and inform of their fate - they're surrounded and they're going to die. From there, we're introduced to three theatres and a set of characters in each to guide the film along. The sea evacuation has Kenneth Branagh and James D'Arcy as commanders stranded on the beach, whilst Mark Rylance, Barry Keoghan and Tom Glynn-Carey are on board a civilian boat on its way. In the air, Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden are two RAF pilots who've been tasked with providing cover, and between the sea and the beach is Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles and Aneurin Barnard trying to find their way home.

What it cleverly does is make it less about dialogue and character development and more about the action. There's no long-winded exposition or pause to tell a story about their life before the war; instead, we see them as they are at that moment - panicked, scrambling to get out and utterly terrified. This tells us far more about the characters than any trite anecdote because, as Christopher Nolan has touched upon before, people show you who they are in those last moments. They become more human and relatable as a result of the action and terror surrounding them, and thus give the audience a way to connect with the characters - something that Nolan hasn't always been able to do well.

The cast is chosen well, reigning in their performances to create something far more believable. When you see the likes of Mark Rylance or Kenneth Branagh, there's a sense that the two are going to shout at the rafters - but instead, both give honest and meaningful performances. Likewise, the younger cast members - Keoghan, Styles, Whitehead and Glynn-Carey - all resist the urge to try and push themselves out to capture the camera's attention, instead folding into what's around them. They're human and flawed, and if some of their actions make them seem like cowards, then we're all cowards really.

Nolan makes strong use of the IMAX camera and Hoyte Van Hotema's cinematography to give the film a real sense of scale and presence but doesn't allow itself to become bogged down in period details. Sure, there's Spitfires flying overhead, the few lines of dialogue sound convincing, the uniforms look correct, but it's all about the tension - and this is something that's done beautifully. There are no moments of resounding victory, no swell of orchestras as the Messerschmitts go down - it's all just about keeping the enemy back until everyone gets out. Even at that, Nazi Germany is never mentioned once - it's simply 'the enemy', and they're never seen in human form as such. All we're shown is grown, trained men in a state of chaos who are outgunned, outmatched and desperately trying to survive. Hans Zimmer's score, together with the incredible sound design, adds another layer of oppressive fear on top a film that's already laced with dread, almost to the point that it's unbearable.

The story itself - Operation Dynamo, the Miracle of Dunkirk - could have been shot, directed and acted in a completely different way, with a totally different outcome. It could have been given over to some kind of veneer with pages of script extolling the heroism shown, but what Christopher Nolan has done is effectively and accurately capture the relentless panic - and that makes the film all the more convincing.

Dripping with dread and tension, Dunkirk may look and sound like your standard war movie - but don't be fooled. This is a masterful survival thriller that deserves your attention.

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Comments

What a disaster film; I mean a sprawling incoherent mess that is such a disaster I felt like cheering for the Germans. The sense of panic at the start where you have soldiers scrambling to get on the sea-craft it reminded me of a Ryanair flight. Then we see a ship get hit and it takes on water as soldiers are scrabbling to get off. But this scene becomes repetitious and belaboured. Okay we saw it but we get this a number of times and then the soundtrack. Oh God it was nerve grating in terms that is was deafening and this chaotic pumping sound that only made the scenes annoying to watch. There is no plot or character in this film it is very badly directed in that we never get to know the characters. Finally the acting was hammy and over the top; I couldn't understand what they were saying. This film has received accolades from a lot of reviewers for me it is a flop.

Exceptional film, movie making at its finest and I'm not a Nolan fan. The tension and dread is unbearable Zimmers score is unrelenting and brilliant the Nolanesqe way of telling the stories in the film (you will see it eventually) it's simply incredible. Who needs back stories when the movie is about and only about the rescue and the soldiers trying to get out alive. Who cares about Tommy's pregnant wife back at home etc etc it's a war film not a rom com and lord knows we have seen enough of that rubbish (Pearl Harbor/Saving Private Ryan) before. The latter is still a classic.

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